A Different Kind Of Wizard
by catchingthegirlonfire
Summary: As Merry and Pippin wait for the Entmoot to decide to go to war, Merry spots a strange light deep in the forest. He follows it, but what he finds is quite unexpected. He finds a wizard, but not the kind he has come to know. Merry stumbles across Harry Potter, on a mission of his own to find and destroy horcruxes.
1. Chapter 1

Deep inside Fangorn Forest, Merry and Pippin, Hobbits of the Shire, wait for Treebeard and the Entmoot to decide if they should attack Isengard.

"Why is it taking them so long?" Pippin groans as Merry puts another log onto their fire.

"Just try to go to sleep, Pip," Merry says, growing tired of Pippin's questions of late.

"We have to do something, Merry," Pippin says, "Otherwise it's all for not."

"What're we supposed to do?" Merry says, "We're Hobbits! Not Ents! It's their forest, not ours."

"Besides," he continues, "We've already tried to reason with them."

"We could try again," Pippin says.

"It'll only make things take longer, interrupting them," Merry says.

"Go to sleep," Merry adds, "They're not going to do anything tonight, you know that."

"I suppose you're right," Pippin says.

Merry sits on the other side of Pippin, not laying down, but sitting, peering into the fire. All of their friends are out on grand adventures and they're stuck in the forest, waiting, always waiting, for other people to make decisions for them. They always get treated like children, as though their opinions are as small in meaning as their size. Merry wishes he could change things, that he could be riding with Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimili, into battle. But Merry is much safer than his friends. Safety should be a blessing, not a curse. After all, if he knew what it truly took out of Frodo and Sam to carry the ring to Mordor, he would surely not wish to trade places with them.

A few minutes later Merry walks a few paces away to get some water to put out the fire. There's no use wishing for things that cannot be. He plunges the nearby vase deep into the pool, making sure to get enough to put it completely out. Strictly speaking they should never have lit the fire in the first place, what with the burning of leave and trees. Treebeard would most definitely not understand.

Merry holds the vase with both hands, for it's too heavy for a mere hobbit to carry alone. He looks up, down into the dark trees and spots something odd. A bright blue-white light shines in the forrest. "Pippin!" he whispers loudly.

Pippin does not answer him. Merry slowly puts the vase down on the ground for safe-keeping. He calls Pippins name once more but still receives no answer. He takes a few steps forward and peers back at him. Pippin lays upon the ground in silent slumber, chest rising and falling peacefully. He decides not to wake him, to let Pippin enjoy his momentary peace.

He walks further into the woods and the light becomes brighter and brighter. The light is moving slowly, but swiftly, moving to the East, like some sort of animal. Merry has to wonder if it's Gandalf, coming back for them. It couldn't be. Gandalf is off somewhere in Rohan, it would be days until he'd return. If that. Merry shakes his head, not wanting to think about the wizard dying twice. Instead he focuses on the light. He hears footsteps entering from the West, and throws himself behind a tree. Merry grasps at his belt but remembers there's nothing there, no elvish knife, it was taken from him. Though the light is white and pure, whatever follows it might not be.

He peers out from behind a tree and sees a dark-haired boy in strange clothes, brandishing a small stick. A great light extends from the stick, but it is not _the _light, which Merry has been following. What sorcery is this?

Despite his skepticism, Merry follows the boy, careful to stay out of his sight. It was easy enough for a Hobbit, though he has grown several inches since the beginning of his stay in Fangorn.

He's now only a mere ten paces from the boy. He's unlike any other man Merry's seen before. Still, he does not approach him, Saruman has many spies in the forest. Treebeard warned them about straying too far, especially at night.

"Lumos Maxima!" the boy yells, and Merry steps back.

What strange words, in a foreign tongue. The light from his small stick shines brighter, and forms a giant orb, which the boy throws into the forest. In an instant, everything is illuminated. Merry shields his eyes, moving to the next tree, as both he and the figure stop. Merry shifts his weight and snaps a twig. He closes his eyes in fear. "Who's there?" the boy says, almost in a whisper.

Merry's ears perk up with excitement, though he doesn't reveal himself. He peers around the other side of the tree, gazing upon a surprising sight. The light Merry has followed is no mere ball of light. It's a doe.


	2. Chapter 2

The doe looks up to the boy and fades away into the night, seeping beneath an icy lake. The boy runs through where the doe was standing, and peers through the ice. He crouches by the ice and looks around. "Accio Sword!" he screams out.

"What would he want with a sword?" Merry whispers to himself.

The boy stands up and says, "Dififndo."

The ice cracks in front of him. Merry gasps. The strange boy starts undressing, stripping off his strange clothes. Surely he won't jump. He'd freeze, or so Merry thinks. He tentatively walks across the frozen lake, to the hole he's carved in it with his strange magic. He jumps in and submerges himself underneath.

The boy is gone a long while, and little bubble boil over the open hole. Merry takes a step out from behind the tree, wondering if he should go and help the boy. Before he gets his chance, he is usurped by another man, of red hair and a pale complexion. The red haired boy throws himself under, and several seconds lated produces the dark-haired boy, as well as a sword. The sword is of high quality, nothing like Merry had seen before, with a ruby encrusted hilt, that shone like red stars upon the midnight speckled lake.

The boy drags him a few feet, away from the hole, as the boy yells out, "Hermione?"

"Are you mental?" the red-haired boy says.

"It was you?!" the dark-haired boy proclaims, confused and surprised, as he walks over to him.

"Well, yeah," the red-haired boy says, "A bit obvious I'd think."

The boy begins to pull back on his clothes as he asks, "And the doe, that was you as well?"

"No," the red-haired boy says, "I reckoned it was you."

"My patronus is a stag," the dark-haired boy says.

"Right," the red-haired boy says, embarrassed, "Antlers."

Merry leans in close, now behind a great oak tree, hanging on their every word.

"You didn't see anyone else?" the dark haired boy asks.

"No, I… I did think maybe I saw something — when I was running –over there –"

The dark-haired boy strides to where the other boy is pointing. Merry covers his mouth to muffle his heavy breathing, holds his breath, and tries to stay very still.

"Anything?" the other calls.

"But I reckon whoever cast the doe, put the sword in that pool hoping we'd find it," the dark-haired boy says, turning away from Merry.

Merry remains unseen and exhales.

"And we did, didn't we?" the red-haired boy says.

Merry no longer looks out from behind the tree, but still listens. "See that? It knows. It's afraid," the dark haired boy murmurs, causing Merry to try to steal a peek, "Do it."

The two boys stand in front of a log, the red-haired boy with sword in hand. "Oy!" the red-haired boy says suddenly, "Who the bloody hell is that?"

Merry shifts back behind his tree, takes two steps out to run back into the forest, but he's too late. "Who are you?" the dark-haired boy says, as both boys put their sticks to his throat.

"Merry," he says, "Meriadoc Brandybuck of the Shire."

They look at each other and laugh, but that ends quickly. "I'm going to ask you again," the dark-haired boy says, "Who are you?"

"I've already told you!" Merry exclaims.

"Don't be stupid," the red-haired boy says, laughing.

"I'm Meriadoc Brandybuck, of Buckland. A Hobbit of the Shire," he says, adding, "Please don't kill me."

"You've got to be joking," the dark-haired boy says, "You're working for the dark lord, aren't you."

"Sauron?" Merry whispers, "No!, No! We intended to destroy the ring, not give it to _him!"_

"Oh bloody hell, here we go," Ron says.

"Tell us you're real name, not stories," the dark-haired boy demands.

"Stories?" Merry says in disbelief, "What stories?"

"I suppose this is _Fangorn Forest, _isn't it then?" the dark-haired boy says.

"It is," Merry says flatly, "Home of the Ents."

The two boys laugh so hard they can barely contain themselves. "He's even dressed like-" the dark-haired boy says, cutting himself off with laughter.

They collect themselves quickly and say, "Now, that was great and all, but..." he pauses to look off into the distance.

Not so far away, where Merry and Pippin had made camp, the trees begin to move. "Bloody hell!" the red-haired boy exclaims.

"We- we really _are _in Fangorn," the dark-haired boy says.

"That's what I've been trying to tell you," Merry says, disgruntled.

"But it can't be," Ron says, "This doesn't exist."

"I assure you it does," Merry says, "And war's on our doorstep."

"Hermione chose this forest," the dark-haired boy says, "She said she remembered the trees."

"I didn't think..." he adds, trailing off.

The red-haired boy finishes his thought, "She'd apparate us into a bloody book."

"What book?" Merry says startled, beginning to think the two boys are completely crazy.

"Err, nothing," the dark-haired boy says.

"I want to have a closer look," the red-haired boy says.

"Don't be hasty," Merry says, "Those are my friends over there. I don't even know who you are."

"Ron," the red-haired boy says, "Ron Weasley."

Merry looks expectantly up to the dark-haired boy, who reluctantly says, "Harry, Harry Potter."


	3. Chapter 3

"Right then," Merry says, "I'd better take you to Treebeard. He'll know what to do with you."

The wizards exchange nervous glances. "Come along!" Merry says, beckoning for them to follow him.

A few moments later they reach the hobbits' small camp, where Pippin is tending to the fire, extinguishing it with water. "Lumos," Harry mutters.

His stick lights up as it had before. "What _are _those?" Merry finally asks.

"Wands," Ron says, "You know, to do...magic."

"Only wizards can do magic," Merry says, laughing.

"But we are wizards," Harry says flatly.

"Wizards are old and wise," Merry says chucking, "Like Gandalf."

Pippin finally spots the group and stands up straight, scared. "Treebeard?" he calls, panicked, thinking the two wizards mean them harm.

"It's alright, Pip," Merry says, "But it's best that Treebeard has a talk with them anyway."

A great crunch resonates behind them, and they whip around to see Treebeard. "That's a tree!" Ron exclaims, "A tree with a _face!"_

"Brilliant," Harry says.

"I told you not to wander in the woods, master hobbit," Treebeard says to Merry.

"The tree, Harry," Ron says aside to Harry, "The bloody tree is talking!"

"I wasn't wandering," Merry says, "I saw a strange light is all. I followed it."

"Oh, Merry," Pippin says, "And they say _I'm _the foolish one."

Merry throws him a look and turns back to Treebeard. "These two claim to be wizards," Merry says, "From a different world."

"What world?" Pippin asks.

Merry does not know the answer, so he turns to the two boys. "Um," Ron starts, only to be interrupted by Harry, "Erm, we are from England. You know. _Earth."_

"Middle earth, you mean?" Merry says.

"Let's go with that then," Ron says.

"I've never heard of _England _before," Treebeard says.

"That's because we're not from Middle Earth," Harry says.

"One of the kin slayers?" Treebeard asks, skeptically.

Ron shrugs his shoulders. Harry says, "No, no, of course not- erm, sir," he pauses and says, "My friend Hermione apparated us here."

"Who is Hermione?" Merry asks.

"Our friend, she's part of our group, if you will," Harry says, "We own an, erm, quest of our own."

"Yeah," Ron adds, "She apparated us here by accident I reckon."

"What's apparating?" Pippin asks.

"Sort of transporting...with magic," Ron says.

"How do you do it?" Merry asks, folding his arms.

"You are wizards," Pippin says, "You should know."

"Well," Harry starts, "You take your wand in your hand and you sort of think of a place where you want to go. And then you appear there."

"Can we try it?" Pippin says, stepping closer to Harry.

"You don't have wands," Harry says, "And besides, you'll get splinched."

"What's _splinched?" _Pippin asks.

"Best not to know, mate," Ron says.

"You mentioned another," Treebeard says.

"Hermione," Harry says, "We could take you to her."

He adds, "If you want."

"How do I know you are not Saruman's spies?" Treebeard asks.

"Do we look like good spies, sir?" Harry asks, gesturing to his strange wet foreign clothes.

"What's that?" Pippin says, pointing to the sword Harry carries.

"It's the sword of Gryffindor," Harry says instinctively, "He's erm, a great...leader, of old."

Harry can't find the right words to explain magic to them. Never mind just explaining Earth. He hopes Hermione might have a more intelligent way of putting it. "Let me see it," Merry says.

"No," Harry says.

"Why not?" Pippin asks.

"Because I need to keep it safe," Harry says, "It's important for the task we have to carry out."

Harry knows that if they see the sword, they'll take it from him, maybe not forever, but they will surely want to see it. The locket chips and chirps, ticking around Harry's neck because even now, it can sense the closeness to its doom. It's imperative that he keeps the sword in his possession, and destroys the locket quickly.

"Can you at least let us see it?" Merry asks, pacing, now skeptical that there is something sinister about the boys.

Harry holds the sword out for a second, and puts it behind his back, in the place he's been holding it all along.

"What are we to believe when you behave like that?" Merry says, "You're hiding something."

Treebeard suddenly picks up the two boys, in his massive hands of bark, and says, "I've never heard of boy wizards before,"

The sword falls with a great _clank _to the ground. Pippin collects it. Treebeard adds, "Sounds like mischief to me,"

Treebeard clutches them tight within his hands so they have no hope of escaping, or brandishing their wands. Harry and Ron yell out in protest. "Master hobbits," Treebeard says, "I will leave them to you."

He places the two back on the ground, causing their wands to roll away to them, to Merry and Pippin's feet. He pauses and adds, "The white wizard will know."


	4. Chapter 4

Harry and Ron struggle to get away, but are powerless without their wands. "How do you suppose they work, Merry?"

"Dunno," he says, "I suppose you just point them, like they did."

Merry points the wand away from him and shakes it twice. "It's not doing anything," Pippin says.

Merry shoots him a look and he shakes it a few times more. "Put it down," Harry says, "You're going to hurt yourself with that."

"Besides, mate," Ron says, "You're holding it the wrong way."

Merry turns it around the right way and says, "I knew that."

"Sure you did," Ron says, smirking.

"Shut it, Ron," Harry whispers.

A few minutes pass as Merry paces, "You mentioned a woman," he pauses, "Who is she?"

"Oh Hermione's our friend," Harry says, "She wouldn't be that far away."

"You think we should investigate that?" Merry says aside to Pippin, or should we wait for Gandalf?"

"Treebeard said it would be a while until Gandalf returns for us," Merry says.

"True," Pippin says, "But it could be dangerous."

"Anything arounds these parts is dangerous in some fashion," Merry says.

"Then let's go," Pippin says, "We've been sitting around in this forest long enough. It's time for us to do something."

As Merry and Pippin weigh their options, Harry and Ron formulate a plan of their own. "We could get away," Ron says.

"What about our wands?" Harry said, "And the sword?"

"We could try to rush them, get our wands back," Ron says, "It's worth a go."

"It would never work, they'd kill us," Harry says.

"Them two?" Ron says, "Blimey, it would be like two little kids trying for us."

"We should reason with them," Harry says, "Make some sort of a bargain."

"What do we have to offer?" Ron says, disgruntled.

"Well," Harry starts, "I can only think of one thing."

"Hermione," he says, "We could take them back to Hermione."

"Harry, no," Ron protests, his love for her too strong, "She could get hurt."

"So could we," Harry says.

"I don't think they'll hurt us," Ron says, "All they've done is ask us questions."

"What do we do then?" Harry says, annoyed with Ron.

"We wait," Ron says, "Until their guards are down."

Harry nods in agreement, it's the only semi-solid plan they've got. "In the morning," Merry says, "We'll ask them in the morning."

"Alright," Pippin says.

"We should set up a watch," Merry says, "Otherwise they'll try to slip away."

"Right," Pippin says.

"I'll take first watch," Merry says, "And then I'll wake you up later."

Pippin nods his head and prepares for bed. Several hours pass as Merry watches the two boys, skeptically. Merry's still unsure of their intentions. Upon further investigation of their sword and their wands he's found nothing. He can't even find a trace of their magic. Finally, he sets the wands down beside him and wakes Pippin. "Oy!" Ron whispers, shaking Harry, "They've switched."

Neither of the wizards open their eyes. They pretend to be asleep. "It's the stupid one," Ron says.

"Shut up, Ron," Harry says, "He's not stupid."

Pippin watches the wizards attentively for an hour or two, but after a while, he grows tired. He desperately wants to sleep. He lays down, still watching, but more comfortable. After a few moments, he drifts off into sleep. "Should we wait a bit longer?" Ron asks.

"No," Harry says, "It'll be our only chance."

Harry waves his arms over his head to attract attention to himself, trying to decide if Pippin is truly asleep, or just pretending. "He's out like a light," Ron says.

The two wizards get up slowly. It's hard to sneak about in the forest, given all the loose leaves and branches. They stop every few feet, not wanting to wake the hobbits. "Get the wands," Harry hisses almost inaudibly to Ron, whom is closest to them.

Ron reaches his hand down, close, mere inches from Pippin's face. Harry's face contorts with worry as he draws them back up. Harry's wand begins to slip, ready to fall, but Ron catches it before it thuds to the ground. He breathes a sigh of relief as Ron throws him his wand. Unless Treebeard suddenly arrived, they are unstoppable now. Harry and Ron back slowly away from the hobbits, behind the trees, sulking away until they certain they can't be heard any longer. "Blimey," Ron says, "Nearly didn't get out of that one."

The two boys pick up into a run back to the lake. "It was this way," Harry says, "I'm certain."

They try to figure out where Hermione and their camp would be. Since Harry is the only one that had been there recently, given that Ron left, Harry leads the way. "Think she'll be happy to see me?" Ron asks.

"I don't know, Ron," Harry says, "I reckon there'll be a few mixed feelings."

"I just hope she's not too mad at me, though," Ron says, "As soon as I left, I tried to come back."

Harry doesn't say anything. Though he forgives Ron for leaving, he's a little bitter. He's had to deal with so much, Hermione, the horcruxes, running from death eaters, all without his help. Nonetheless, they make the walk up together, and Harry listens to all of Ron's stories. Harry adds none, there's not much to tell. And of course, the things that had happened, Hermione would want to tell him herself. Naturally, she was like that. "It's right up the hill I think," Harry says.

"You ready to face her?" he adds.

"I got picked up by a tree today, mate. I don't think an angry girl will come anywhere near that," Ron says.

But he underestimates Hermione Jean Granger.


	5. Chapter 5

"Harry!" Hermione calls to the dark trees after waking up, realizing he's no longer sitting outside the tent.

She calls his name again and again but to no avail. She sits outside the tent to wait for him. Maybe he went for a walk or something. But why would he walk at night? She goes back inside the tent to wait. She glances at her watch. It's 1am, still no sign of Harry.

About two hours later she sees a rustling in leaves a short distance away. She stands tall, without her wand, half forgetting Harry had taken it for the watch. Things were difficult with just one wand, and Hermione felt utterly naked without it. "I'm pretty sure it's here," a voice says, "Around here."

Harry emerges from the bush followed by another man. "Harry!" Hermione cries out, but the sound does not reach Harry's ears.

At least they know the muffliato charm works now. She runs down the hill towards Harry and the figure, eventually breaking out of the confines of the charm. "Hermione!" Harry exclaims, "I half thought I'd never see you again."

Hermione throws her arms around Harry, but as she does, she sees the face of the person Harry had been walking with. "Ronald?" Hermione whispers, recoiling.

"Hi," Ron says, awkwardly waving, "How are you?"

Hermione scoffs and says, "How am I?" she pauses and adds, "_Wonderful_."

"I'm sorry for leaving, Mione, I wanted to come back as soon as I left-" Ron says, Hermione cutting him off.

"How dare you, Ronald Weasley!" Hermione says, hitting him hard on the shoulder, "It's been weeks!"

"Harry," Hermione says, "Where's my wand."

Harry holds Hermione's wand in his hand, but puts it behind his back. He fears what Hermione might do with it. "Why's Harry using your wand?" Ron asks.

"If you would have been here, you would've known why!" Hermione half screams at him, hitting him once more.

"Where the bloody hell did you come from anyway?" Hermione demands of Ron.

"Look," Ron says, "I've been looking for you a very long time. You're not exactly the easiest of people to find these days."

"I found you wish this," Ron says, taking the deluminator out of his pocket, "It doesn't just turn off lights."

"I'm not sure how it works. But on Christmas morning I was sleeping in this little pub, trying to keep away from some snatchers, and I heard it," Ron says.

"Heard what?" Hermione asks, still disgruntled, but considerably more calmer than before.

"It?" Harry asks.

"A voice," Ron says, "You're voice, Hermione."

"It was coming out of it," Ron adds.

"And what exactly did I say, may I ask?" Hermione says, arms folded across her chest, tense.

"My name," Ron says, "Just my name."

"Like a whisper," he adds.

"So I took it, and I clicked it, and this little ball of erm...light appeared," Ron says, "The ball of light floated towards me, and went straight into my chest, right through me."

Ron gestures to his heart. "Right here," he says, "And I knew it would take me where I needed to go, so I disapparated, I came here. It was dark, I had no idea where I was."

"I just hoped that one of you would show yourself. And sure enough, Harry did."

A long pause ensues as Hermione tries to process, "What made you leave, Harry?"

"There was...a light," Harry says, "Not Ron's light, but a silver doe."

"A patronus?" Hermione says, "But that's your patronus."

"Don't you think I know that?" Harry says, "But there's more."

Hermione gestures for Harry to go on, "I followed it, all the way into the woods. It leads me to a lake, a frozen lake. Then it disappeared. I walked out to the center of the lake and saw something underneath the water."

"It was the sword of Gryffindor," Harry adds, "So I went in and got it, but the necklace started chocking me."

The necklace hisses and clicks, only audible to Harry, it recognizes when it's being discussed. "And I pulled him out," Ron says.

"Where's the sword?" Hermione asks.

Ron and Harry exchange glances, now realizing that they had forgotten the sword when they snuck away. "We...lost it," Ron says, shyly.

"You what?" Hermione growls.

"I'm sorry, Hermione," Harry says, "When we were at the lake someone saw us."

"A death eater?" she asks.

"A hobbit," Ron says.

"Don't be cheeky, Ronald! I've had about enough of you already!" Hermione says sharply, smacking him again.

"Honestly," Harry says, "And he led us back to their camp. Then the ents came."

Hermione says, closing in on him, "Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm alright, Hermione, you just have to understand," Harry says.

"Are you sure?" Hermione muses.

"I'm fine, goddamnit!" Harry erupts, causing Hermione to step back from him. "When they came they wanted to take us prisoner I suppose. Because they weren't sure if we were spies. They were going to take us to Gandalf," Harry says.

"Harry," Hermione says, "Gandalf's not real."

"And you thought wizards weren't real until you were eleven," Ron says, "Now you're a bloody witch!"

Hermione shoots him a cold look. "Ron, quit while you're ahead," Harry says, turning back to Hermione, "They took our wands and the sword. We got the wands back, but we forgot the sword in the thick of it."

"What does my father do," Hermione demands of Harry suddenly, fearing that he might be someone else on polyjuice potion, "What's his job?"

"He's a dentist," Harry says, "But I hardly think that's relevant..."

"Ronald," she says, turning to him, "What did you call me upon first meeting me?"

"Erm, well..." Ron stutters, trying to get it out, "A _nightmare_."

"What's wrong with you?" Ron asks.

"I was trying to figure out if you were someone else. Obviously you're not. But you're still making no sense."

"There is no such thing as ents or hobbits," Hermione says.

"And we thought that too," Ron says, "But it's real. And we're in the thick of Fangorn Forest as we speak."

Ron throws his arms up to the air. "But that's just a story," Hermione says.

"Don't believe us?" Harry says, "Fine, we'll show you ourselves."

Harry begins to march down the hill, but Hermione protests. "No!" she says, "It might be dangerous!"

"Make up your mind, Hermione," Harry says, "It's real or it's not. Besides, we've got to get the sword back anyway or we can't... _you know." _

Harry refrains from saying "the locket" outright, because last time it came in contact with the sword, it nearly strangled him to death. Hermione, skeptically follows them down the hill towards the hobbits' campsite. How could this even be possible. "For the love of Tolkien," she mutters to herself, as they make their way through the trees, wands gripped tight in hand. Ron even had an extra wand for Harry, which he had taken from a snatcher. The three roam back through the woods, in search of something impossible once again.


	6. Chapter 6

"Pip!" Merry yells, shaking Pippin awake, "Pippin, wake up."

He adds, "They're gone!"

Pippin's eyes flash open, "Who's gone?" he asks, forgetting about the wizards.

Merry gestures to the spot where they had left them. "Oh," Pippin says, barely audibly, "I'm sorry, Merry. I must've fallen asleep."

"Great," Merry says, pacing, "Treebeard's going to kill us when he finds out they're gone."

"I suppose," Pippin says, standing, "But they've forgotten this."

Pippin pulls out the magnificent sword of Gryffindor from beside him. "They seemed quite attached to it before," Pippin says, "Surely they'll be back for it."

"It's just a sword, Pip," Merry says, "Sure it's fancy and all, but they wouldn't risk life and limb for a sword."

"What damage could we possibly do to them?" Pippin asks, "And besides, they took their wands back. They can do magic, Merry. Magic we've never even seen Gandalf do."

"I don't think they'd try to harm us," Merry says, "But they were very odd people."

Pippin sighs and sits back down, "No sense worrying about what has already been done," Merry says, plunking down beside him, "Either they'll come back at dawn or they won't."

Meanwhile, Harry, Hermione, and Ron lurk nearby in the woods, trying to find the hobbits before morning. "It was this way," Harry says, "I'm positive."

"Well, I thought it was this way," Ron says, pointing in a completely different direction.

Hermione, still angry with Ron shoots him a nasty look. "Alright then," Ron says, eager to do anything to get on Hermione's good side, "I'm sure Harry remembers better than I do."

Harry raises his eyebrows, and cracks a slight smile, but does not dare to laugh. He knows Hermione will forgive Ron soon eventually, hopefully soon, but he does enjoy seeing his best friend squirm.

"There," Harry whispers, pointing, "Over there."

"I can hardly see a thing," Hermione says.

Harry shushes her, but they are still out of earshot of the hobbits. Familiar crashing footsteps barrel through the forest towards the hobbits. Hermione takes a step back, "That's not possible."

"We've been trying to tell you that," Ron says.

This time, Hermione is far too stunned to react to Ron's slightly snarky comment. "Was that who I think it is," she says, half seemingly excited.

"Oh, yeah, Treebeard?" Harry says, "We've met him already."

"The only problem is," Ron starts, "He doesn't understand that we're wizards. He thinks we're working for Saruman."

"I can see why," Hermione says, sarcastically, "Two idiot wizards stumbling about in the night, casting spells all over the place."

"We were trying to get the sword!" Ron protests.

"You're the one who brought us here, Hermione!" Harry says.

"How did you pick this place anyway?" Ron says.

"I thought I remembered it, I suppose," Hermione says shyly, "I thought it was just a regular forest."

She reaches into her pocket and takes out a book, "I read this last week."

She hands an old copy of _Lord of The Rings: The Two Towers _to Harry. He looks up at her and she puts it back in her pocket. "I didn't mean to," she says, "I'm just sick of reading about Grindelwald, even Dumbledore."

"What's a Grindelwald?" Ron asks.

"Later, Ronald," Hermione says, waving him off.

"I'm positive I can get us back to our world," Hermione adds, "But we need to take the sword back first."

Treebeard picks up the hobbits, and begins carrying them to the forest, and the trio trails behind them, trying to figure out what to do. "They'll have to rest sometime," Ron says, "Then we'll steal the sword back, and apparate back to the tent."

"Do trees get tired?" Harry asks.

"Dunno," Ron says, "I haven't met very many trees til' now."

Meanwhile, Treebeard, Merry and Pippin are headed back to the edge of Fangorn, so they can get back to the Shire. After they let the wizards slip away, Treebeard decides it's for the best. Though the hobbits nearly always mean well, they have a certain naivety or immature quality to them. No doubt from all the years spent in the comfort of the Shire. Still, they're two of the bravest hobbits in all of the land, a close second to Frodo and Sam. And they've done a lot of growing up in the last few months. "You won't stand and fight?" Pippin asks.

"Oh, Little Hobbits," Treebeard starts, "The ents will not go to war tonight,"

"But all are friends are off on adventures, fighting," Pippin says, "And we don't fight back ourselves when we have so much to fight for?"

"What could we do?" Merry says, "We're hobbits, not warriors. We'd get killed."

"Then what about Frodo and Sam," Pippin says, "Are they just hobbits too?"

"Frodo's different," Merry says, "He always has been."

"Why should we be any different," Pippin says, "Why can't we do something to help them. You know?"

"I understand, Pip," Merry says, "But maybe we're better off headed home. Our adventure is over."

After a long while of silent walking, Pippin breaks the silence, "You have to turn around!"

"What?" Merry says.

"Turn around, turn around," Pippin says, "Take us South."

"But that would...lead you past Isengard," Treebeard says.

"We could slip past Saruman...unnoticed," Pippin says, "The closer we are to danger, the farther away we are from harm. It's the last thing he'd expect."

"Hmmm," Treebeard says, considering Pippin's point, "Doesn't make much sense to me."

He adds, "But then...you are very small. Perhaps you're right," he pauses, "South it is then. I've always liked going South, somehow it feels like going downhill."

Treebeard turns around and heads towards the trio, barreling down on them. "Blimey!" Ron whispers as they duck behind a tree, "Where the bloody hell are they going now?"

"To Isengard," Hermione says, sighing, "Honestly, Ronald, do you read?"


	7. Chapter 7

Treebeard yells out a tree-ish saddened roar as he gazes upon the sight of the cut and mangled stumps of his tree friends. Pippin hangs his head and Merry twitches, wincing with disgust. "A wizard should know better," he growls lowly, with intense anger for Saruman.

After changing their course in a new direction, down past Isengard, they stumbled across this place, a sort of graveyard of cut down trees. Saruman was an old friend of Treebeard's. He mentioned to them often how he would walk in the woods and visit him. But since then, Saruman has been poisoned by the Palantir, a seeing stone, somewhat similar to a crystal ball. Saruman's love for the woods and things that grow has gone away, replaced by a love of metal, industry, and war. His army of orcs cut down the forest, on Isengard's doorstep, to fuel the fires of his forges.

The hobbits look down at Isengard, a place Gandalf had long warned them of, and are curious. A black tower jets up into the sky, looking out of place, awkward even. The great spires at the top look like weapons. No wonder a wizard in such a place went mad, or so Merry thinks. A great wall of stone encircles the tower. It has long since fallen in disrepair. New structures, crude and orc-ish surround it. A massive fiery cavern has been carved into the earth.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione wait at the edge of the woods behind them, and ents stream out of the woods behind them. Hermione screams as one picks her up, then another grabs Harry and Ron. Treebeard and the Hobbits turn around, "Good, good, good," Treebeard says, "Many have come."

"What's happening?" Pippin asks.

"The ents are going to war," Treebeard says proudly, now having just cause to wage a war against Saruman and his forces.

The trees close in around Treebeard and the two trees holding the trio of wizards step forward. Naturally, being trees, this takes quite a long time. "What do we have here," Treebeard says, leaning down, causing the hobbits to fall off his back.

Merry and Pippin throw them looks, "Come back for the sword?" Merry asks, "Thought you could just sneak away in the night."

"We mean you no harm," Harry says, "We just really, _really _need that sword back, please."

"We've already gone over this," Merry says, "You'll take it to Saruman."

He adds, "For the war!"

"But we're on the same side!" Hermione says, "We're trying to defeat a dark lord, too!"

She looks around, slightly embarrassed, feeling awkward that she's screaming at trees and hobbits.

"Who's this?" Treebeard asks, bending lower to examine Hermione Granger.

"Hermione Granger, sir," she says.

"Sir?" Treebeard repeats, "I quite like the sound of that."

"We don't have the time for this," Merry says, annoyed that the wizards are ruining their only chance at a second adventure.

"Don't be hasty," Treebeard says.

"Prove to us that you are not spies," Treebeard says, "Come, fight alongside us."

The hobbits exchange glances and Pippin shrugs, "Sounds fair," he whispers, as Merry jabs him in the side.

Merry still does not trust them. Hermione looks at Harry, then to Ron. "We _need _the sword," Hermione whispers, "As much as I don't want to do this, I think we should."

Ron nods, still wanting to get on Hermione's good side, but the time has past for that. Ron's leaving is already out of her mind. "We could get killed," Ron says.

"Yeah," Harry says, "And we'll definitely be killed if we can't destroy all of the horcruxes anyway."

"Pick your poison," he adds.

"Maybe the sword will appear again, like in the chamber, or at the lake," Hermione says.

"I don't know, Hermione," Harry says, "Would you risk it?"

She shrugs, "Who knows how the sword got here," she pauses, "And if we leave this place, it could be stuck here forever."

She glances at Merry, whom holds the sword in this hand, still reluctant. She considers reaching into her pocket, and hexing him, but that would be cruel. If she knows his character, and she surely does, helping them wage war on Isengard will ensure their help forever.

Hermione sighs and turns up to Treebeard. "We will help you, to prove ourselves, in exchange for the sword and the freedom to go our own way," she says.

"Thank you," Treebeard says.

Hermione shrieks again as another ent suddenly picks her up. She sits upon his shoulder, beside Ron. Harry sits on the other side. They exchange nervous glances, hearts pounding. They make the climb down the hill towards another battle. One thing's for sure, Harry, Ron, and Hermione are no strangers to battling evil.

The last march of the ents...


	8. Chapter 8

The three wizards looked down the hill in horror of what lay before them, what they were getting into. "I swear, Hermione," Harry starts, "If I die, I'll kill you."

Hermione says nothing in return but draws her wand. She gives it a good shake in her hand. "It'll be alright," she says, barely audibly over the ents' crashing footsteps.

Merry turns, watching the wizards upon Treebeard's shoulder. "Focus, Merry," Pippin says, "Forget them."

Merry turns the right way around as the trees descend into Isengard. Treebeard is the first one down the great hill and stumbles crashing over the protective stone wall around the tower. The ents spread out around him, picking up large boulders and breaking off parts of the wall. Orcs rush them immediately, wielding heavy axes and fiery arrows.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione soon pass over the wall too. The tree which carries them is called Ashfoot, a sizable tree, who has great heavy legs, entirely comprised of intricately woven root systems and moss. Ashfoot bends down low to grab a boulder, and in doing so almost knocks off his new three companions. "I'm very sorry, young wizards," he says, "Not used to having to carry people."

"It's alright, Ashfoot," Hermione says, stunned that he, like Treebeard, speaks the common tongue.

"Stupefy!" Harry yells, sending an orc down on his back stunned.

"Petrificus Totalus!" Hermione says confidently, paralyzing another orc.

"Aren't you going to do anything?" Hermione swirls her head back, turning to Ron.

"I haven't had much chance, Hermione," Ron says, scanning the ground for possible prey.

"Augmenti!" Hermione screams, shocked, extinguishing an ent hit with flaming arrows with a powerful sprout of water.

"Stupefy!" Ron says, finally, causing a rabid orc with an axe to be stunned.

Hermione smiles at him, and Ashfoot rages on through the battle, taking orcs down with every swoop of his heavy arms.

Merry and Pipping throw rocks, still traveling with Treebeard. "I guess they can do magic," Pippin says, throwing another rock.

"A hit," Tree beard says, "A fine hit."

Merry looks in their direction, trying to fathom the whizzing, glittering colors flying through the air. "Reminds me of Gandalf's fireworks, you know?" Pippin adds.

As Merry and Pippin discuss the wizards, Harry runs into trouble of his own. "Blimey!" he says, as an arrow streams past his ear and hits the tower.

"Are you alright, Harry?" Hermione says after stunning the orc that shot it.

"Yeah," he says, looking around, "Didn't see it coming."

"Who the bloody hell is that?" Ron says suddenly, pointing up to a white figure, stark against the black of the tower.

"Saruman," Hermione says coldly, raising her wand.

"Sectumsempra!" Harry yells, missing, creating a large fissure on the side of the tower wall.

"Harry!" Hermione scolds him, "No good can come from a spell like that!"

"Right," he says, "That's why I used it."

Their attention soon turns back to the tower, Saruman no longer stands upon the balcony. He's retreated back inside where it's safer. Rather, as safe as it can get, taking to account you're in the middle of a war. But according to Harry, just like Voldemort, he's put his faith into the wrong people. Saruman's made his bed, now he has to lay in it. And so will Voldemort in his own time.

"Break the dam!" Treebeard bellows lowly, "Release the river!"

Harry gazes up at the dam, as a lone tree pulls the braces apart. Water begins to burst through the cracks, causing a domino effect. The ent barely makes it to safety before the dam bursts open. Water cascades down the mountainside, headed directly for the cavern beside them. Saruman's towers and bridges come tumbling down, far too unsteady to withstand the force of the water.

"Pippin, hold on!" Merry yells as the water rushes towards them.

"Hold on, little hobbits!" Treebeard says, bracing himself.

The water hits them, nearly knocking them down, but Treebeard is strong and hearty. As the water hits Ashfoot, Hermione is not as well braced as she'd like to be. The water slams into Ashfoot and the bottom half of Hermione's body. She screams, slipping off his shoulder, but a hand pulls her back up.

"You...you saved me," she says, looking up at Ron, "Thank you Ronald."

Ron nods and holds her tight against Ashfoot, to be sure she stays on. Harry smirks to himself, unseen by the others, knowing once again that it's just a matter of time before they admit they're mad about each other.

The water rushes into the fiery chasm beside the tower, sizzling and steaming, as the orcs struggle for their lives. "Terrible, isn't it?" Hermione says.

"I guess," Harry says, "But they're evil."

"Still," Hermione says, "They didn't ask to be bred for this purpose."

She closes her eyes as the orcs shriek, knowing it will be all too soon before she hears the shrieks of her friends dying in battle. A second battle, in their world, is eminent. All they need to do is collect the sword, and find the remaining horcruxes. Voldemort must be stopped, and stopped soon. Isengard has been saved, but you can't say the same for the wizarding world.


	9. Chapter 9

A few more hours pass allowing the Ents to take control of Isengard. Thankfully the river did much of the work for them, drowning every orc inside the fiery chasm. Still, it has taken them hours to weed out orcs hiding in other places. They can't relax until every enemy is dead.

Merry and Pippin climb off Treebeard and onto a high slab of the broken wall. "I will leave you here, young hobbits," Treebeard moans, clearly tired.

"Where are you going?" Pippin asks.

"I must consult with Ashfoot, Quickbeam, and the other leaders," he says slowly.

"About what?" Pippin asks.

"The wizard," Treebeard says sharply, turning from the hobbits.

"What of the other wizards then?" Merry asks.

"They have done their part, Master Meriadoc, now it is time to uphold your part of the bargain," Treebeard says.

Merry begrudgingly agrees, clutching the hilt of the sword behind his back. Merry now knows the merit of the wizards and their alignment with their cause. He should not have doubted them. His finger twinges with pain and he holds it up.

"I think it's broken," Pippin says.

"Eh," Merry starts, "It's not so bad."

As the hobbits settle in, the trio discusses future plans with Ashfoot, Quickbeam, Treebeard, and two other Ent leaders.

"Thank you for your help," Quickbeam says, "You are powerful allies."

"I only wish we would have been able to capture the wizard," he adds.

"Don't be hasty, Quickbeam," Treebeard scolds him.

Quickbeam is one of the youngest of the Ents, at his middle age, seeing as though the entwives have long since been gone. He earned his name in the common tongue because he was unusually hasty for an Ent. Quickbeam's mind has been made up for a long time, he always wanted to see Isengard in ruin. Saruman burned groves of rowan trees, killing hundreds of his friends and kin. He wants to see Saruman punished, and swiftly.

"But what will you do with Saruman?" Harry asks, knowing full well his magic is more powerful than the disgraced wizard's.

"You should wait for Gandalf to come," Hermione chimes in, "He is the white wizard after all."

"Hmmm," Treebeard starts, "Well, Saruman can't go very far."

Harry looks up at the tower and catches a glimpse of the wizard hiding in the shadows. He shakes his head, _just like Voldemort_, he thinks. Always hiding in the shadows, like a snake, waiting to strike.

"We do not know when Gandalf will return," Ashfoot says.

"It could be days. Perhaps even _weeks_," Quickbeam interjects.

"Then weeks is what shall will wait," Treebeard says, having the most authority to decide.

"Will you wait with us?" he asks, turning to the wizards.

"I wish we could," Hermione says, "But we have to get back to our world. We have another war we have to fight."

"We have to destroy this," Harry says, holding out Tom Riddle's locket.

Quickbeam leans in, to look at it and snatches it out of his hand. Though this happens reasonably slowly, it still takes Harry by surprise. Quickbeam throws the locket on the ground and stomps on it as hard as he can. He lifts his foot up and the locket lays half-buried in the muddy ground beneath the water, still fully intact. Harry reaches down to pick it up. "While I appreciate the effort," he starts, putting the chain around his neck, "I don't think that's going to work."

"How do you suppose," Treebeard starts, breathy, "...you will get rid of it."

"That's why we need the sword," Ron says, "That's the only thing that'll destroy it."

"The sword is yours," Treebeard says, "I trust Merry will be giving it to you shortly."

"Great," Harry says, "We'll destroy the locket...and then...and then."

He stops and scratches his head, "Blimey, Hermione, then what do we do?"

"I don't know, Harry," Hermione says, "We need to figure out where the next horcrux might be."

"You could wait with us," Quickbeam says, "There's certainly a place for you here."

Harry looks at Hermione, who shrugs. "Oh c'mon, Hermione," Ron whispers, "I wanna meet Gandalf!"

She rolls her eyes, "I suppose we could stay."

"That is, until we have any better ideas," she adds.

"We'll have to go get the tent," Ron says, "If we can find it anyway."

"We'll find it," Hermione says, "But let's destroy the locket first."

The three wizards bid the Ents a temporary goodbye, and Ashfoot leads them to the hobbits. He drops them off at the base of the wall and wades away through the water towards the tower.

"Hello," Hermione says awkwardly, not knowing what else to say.

Pippin smiles at them, wanting to know the mystery behind their magic wands, though he doesn't say anything. Merry reaches behind his back and holds the sword of Gryffindor flat in his hands. "Take it," he says.

He winces as Harry pulls the sword through his hands. "What's wrong with your hand?" Hermione asks, stepping forward, grabbing it.

She looks up at him and says, "These two, these two are broken."

He draws his hand away from her and says, "I'll be fine."

"No, really," Hermione says, grabbing his hand once more and brandishing her wand, "Let me help you."

"Episkey!" she says, causing the small bones in Merry's hand to mend.

His eyes widen as he moves and bends his fingers normally without pain. "How did you do that?"

"Magic of course," Hermione says, smiling.

"Thank you," he says, cracking a smile at them for the first time, "It doesn't hurt anymore."

"Can you show us some more of your magic?" Pippin asks, finally getting his opportunity.

"Later, perhaps," Hermione says, looking closer at the sword.

Their focus quickly turns back to the locket and the sword. "We've dragged this out far too long," Harry says, holding the locket firm in his hand.

"Tonight," he adds.

Hermione nods in agreement, the hobbits should not bear witness to this.

That night, in the cover of the forest, by the tent, the wizards gather away from the watchful eyes of the Ents and hobbits. Harry takes the locket off his neck and places it on a large fallen tree trunk beside the river.

"Do you hear that?" he asks.

"Hear what?" Hermione says.

"Nevermind," Harry says, obviously the only one who can hear the sinister chirping and clicking of the horcrux.

Hermione places the sword in Ron's hand. "Bloody hell, Hermione," he says, "Me?"

She nods and steps back. Harry looks at him, ready to say the words. Ron nods, wraps his hand around the hilt, and Harry hisses _open_ in parseltongue...

The locket snaps open, revealing a human eye. Black smoke billows out of it, knocking Hermione on the ground. It has stunned her, rendering her unconscious, blind and deaf to what's going on around her. Harry and Ron both fall to the ground, disoriented by the black smoke, but still conscious.

"I have seen your heart, Ron Weasley," Voldemort's voice hisses, "And it is _mine_!"

"I have seen your dreams, and I have seen your fears," it hisses.

A stream of black spiders crawls out of the smoke, causing Ron to back away, still fallen on the ground. "Least loved by your mother, who craved a daughter," it says, "And least loved by the girl who prefers your friend..."

Ron looks up, astonished, to see that the smoke has shifted into a rendering of Harry and Hermione. His mouth falls open. "We were better without you," the rendering of Harry says, eerily, "_Happier_ without you."

"Who could love _you_, compared to Harry Potter," the image of Hermione says, both stepping forward slowly.

"What are _you_ compared to the chosen one?" she asks.

"Ron, it's lying!" the real Harry yells, voice powerless over the locket's.

"Your mother confessed she would have preferred me as a son," the locket's image of Harry says haughtily.

"What woman would take you? You are nothing," the rendering of Hermione says coldly, "_Nothing_."

Their voices echo through the trees. "Nothing compared to _him_," the image adds.

Ron is angered, but wholeheartedly not prepared for what he's seeing. The locket projects an image of Harry and Hermione passionately kissing. He snarls at the locket, breaths loaded with anger. He stands up tall, holds out the sword, and runs to it screaming with rage. He smashes the blade against the two halves, shattering them.

The black smoke dissipates, revealing the destroyed horcrux. Ron and Harry sit panting on the ground, astonished.

"Hermione!" Ron yells a few seconds later, rushing for her.

He cups her head in his hands and yells, "Hermione!"

Harry rushes over, "What happened?" she says, slowly starting to open her eyes.

She repeats her question once more. Ron says, "It's done, it's finished."

"You destroyed it then?" Hermione asks, Ron answers her in a nod.

"Good on you then," she says, sitting up, "I knew you could do it."

"Yeah," he says, "Thanks for believing in me."

She smiles at him, unknowingly assuring Ron that the locket's claims are all fallacies. Three horcruxes down, three to go.


	10. Chapter 10

"I think I've figured something out," Hermione says, looking up to Ron and Harry.

It's been two weeks to the day since the battle at Isengard, and Hermione feverishly searches for solutions to their own problem daily. She can't let their search come to a stop just because they're somewhere new. They need to keep going.

"Look," Hermione says, handing Harry her copy of _The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore_, "That symbol's popped up again."

"It's the same as this one," Hermione says, holding up _The Tales of Beedle The Bard._

Harry runs his finger over the manipulated "A" of Albus Dumbledore's name in the book. "It could just be an A, you know," Ron says, trying to offer up some help, "A for Albus."

"I'm sorry, Ron," Harry says, "I don't think it's that simple."

"Besides," Harry continues, "I talked to Luna's dad at Bill and Fleur's wedding. He said it had something to do with the deathly hallows."

"Well that's just a story," Ron says, "Everyone knows that."

Harry and Hermione exchange a look. Though Hermione knew it quite well from the storybook Dumbledore had given her, she had been raised a muggle, as was Harry. "I think we need to find out more about the deathly hallows," Hermione says, "And why a grown man would be interested in them."

"I'll tell you why," Ron starts, "Because the man is completely bonkers, Hermione. I mean, have you _read _the Quibbler?"

"I know he can be a bit eccentric," Hermione starts.

"A bit, yeah," Ron says, rolling his eyes.

"Luna will be home from school," Harry says, "It would be nice to see someone from the outside."

"What are we going to tell Treebeard, though?" Hermione says, "I know we were going to wait for Gandalf but it's been weeks. We can't wait forever."

"I say we stay one more night and leave tomorrow, directly for Luna's house," Hermione adds.

"It's a bit disappointing, isn't it?" Ron says, "We've been waiting all this time for Gandalf and we have to leave before we even meet him."

"Blimey," Ron adds, let down.

"Honestly, Ronald?" Hermione asks, "I've told you a thousand times, you _need _to sort out your priorities."

Harry laughs, loving watching them bicker like an old married couple. Hermione hits him in the knee with her book, "Stop laughing!" she says, laughing now herself.

"Hey!," Harry says, "What was that for? It's only a bit of fun."

"You might be the Chosen One out there, Harry," Hermione teases, "But in here _I'm _in charge."

"There's two of us, one of her, and we're still outnumbered," Ron says, "Forget about it, mate."

A short-time later Harry, Ron, and Hermione emerge from their tent. Since defeating Isengard they've decided to move their tent there. Their lives have actually been quite pleasant since stumbling upon Merry and Pippin. The Hobbits discovered a hoard of food nearby, riddled with things the wizards could only dream of. They were far too used to stealing and rationing. They finally were getting the nourishment they needed.

That's not all that's changed. The Hobbits, namely Merry, have entirely changed their tune about the wizards. They consider themselves friends now, often discussing their various journeys and past trials and tribulations. It was often difficult for Hermione to speak to them. She didn't say much, for fear that she would divulge something to them from their future. They've already changed things quite enough.

"Treebeard," Hermione calls behind him.

"Oh, Hermione," Treebeard says, as he turns around slowly, "What can I do for you?"

"I have to tell you something," Hermione says, hanging her head, "As much as I don't want to, I think it's time for us to leave."

"We've found something," Harry says, "Our next move."

Treebeard says nothing, but looks off into the distance. "Treebeard, I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry, young wizards. I have not heard a word you've said," he says, "Look."

"Bloody hell, it's Gandalf," Ron says, excitedly, looking to see Gandalf and company crossing the border into Isengard.

"Brilliant," Hermione whispers to herself sarcastically, "We'll be here for two _more _weeks."

Moments later Gandalf, Aragorn, Gimli, Legolas, King Théoden, Éomer, and company ride in, headed for the tower.

"Welcome, my lords, to Isengard," Merry says, having a smoke and a laugh with Pippin.

"You young rascals!" Gimli says, astonished, but happy to see them, "A merry hunt you've led us on, and now we find you feasting and smoking!"

"We are sitting on a field of victory, enjoying a few well-earned comforts," Pippin says with a mouthful of food, "The salted pork is particularly good."

"Salted pork?" Gimli says, mouth agape, all the glands on his tongue salivating.

"Hobbits," Gandalf mutters to himself, shaking his head.

"But there's something else we want to show you," Merry says, "A group that has long wished to meet you."

"Captives?" Gandalf asks.

"Allies," Merry says proudly, "Wizards."

"It cannot be," Gandalf says, shocked, "It has been so long that I have forgotten their names."

"They're by the tower," Pippin says, "With the Ents."

"We're under orders from Treebeard, who's taken over management of Isengard," Merry says confidently.

Pippin climbs behind Aragorn, and Merry behind Éomer, and they slowly wade to the tower to meet the wizards.

"Huraroom," Treebeard says slowly and gutturally, "Young Master Gandalf, I'm glad you've come."

"Wood and water, stock and stone, I can master, but there's a wizard to be managed here," Treebeard adds, "Locked in his tower."

"More than one wizard, from what I can understand," Gandalf says.

Treebeard steps aside, allowing the wizards to come into the company's view. Gandalf points his staff at them. "These are no wizards," Gandalf says, "Of this I am sure."

"Not the kind you're used to, no," Hermione says, "We are wizards from another world."

"They're on a quest of their own," Pippin says, "They have a dark lord to defeat as well."

"Fool of a Took," Gandalf mutters, "They are conjurors, deceivers!"

"They're our friends!" Merry says, sliding off the horse into the water.

Merry strides in front of the wizards and holds his arms out, protecting them. "And I will see them no harm."

"Thank you, Merry," Hermione whispers.

"Master Gandalf," Treebeard says, "They have proved their allegiance. They have saved many of my friends."

"If not for them, Isengard may not have fallen," Treebeard says.

"Is that so?" Gandalf says, "If you have a dark lord to fight then what brings you here?"

"I brought us here on accident," Hermione says, "You see, our magic is highly unpredictable. Sometimes things go wrong for even me."

Gandalf laughs and says, "Surely you're not a wizard."

"Women can't be wizards," he adds, "At least I've never seen any."

"I'll be begging your pardon, sir, but they can," Hermione says, brandishing her wand, snatching his staff with a simple spell.

She throws it back to him, not wanting to cause any trouble, just prove her worth. "I suppose you are then," Gandalf says, "I meant no offense."

"You would do well to recognize a woman's worth," Hermione says boldly, "You _will _see it before the end."

"We will I'm sure, Miss..." Gandalf trails off, not knowing her name.

"Granger," Hermione says confidently, "Hermione Granger."

"This is Harry Potter, and Ron Weasley," she adds.

"Such strange names," says King Théoden.

Hermione gives a small bow to him, "Forgive me, my lord, for my bold speech. I have nearly forgotten I was in the presence of a king."

Théoden waves her off, half laughing. Though a half laugh is all he can muster at this time, for his people were just slaughtered. "We need more magic folk like you, Hermione," he says, "We need your help."

"I wish we could stay," she says, "But we must go our own way tomorrow."

"Must you leave so soon?" Aragorn asks, curious of the trio.

"I'm afraid so," Hermione says, "And I don't know when or if we shall return."

"What of the other two?" Gandalf asks, "Can they remain with us?"

"I'm afraid not," Harry says, "The future of my people rests on my shoulders. I and I alone am responsible for their fate."

"I need to destroy the Dark Lord as quickly as I can," Harry adds, "I'm fighting a life-long battle that cannot be won without the two standing beside me."

Hermione lets a slight smile slip, and pats him on the shoulder. "Erm- Ronald?" she says, "Would you like to say something?"

Ron looks up to Gandalf nervously, almost starstruck. He's been a fan of Gandalf ever since he was a kid. He often wondered if he was real, and what he would say if he ever met him. Naturally after his childhood he wrote the idea off, of course Gandalf was not real. But this time, just this time, Gandalf is as real as Harry, Hermione, or even Lord Voldemort. And he's just standing ten feet away.

"Erm- Hi, Mister Gandalf...erm- sir," Ron squeaks out awkwardly.

Gandalf laughs and says, "Very nice to meet you, Ron Weasley."

Gandalf pauses and adds, "What's your role to play in all of this?"

"Well, sir, I'm not sure of this myself," Ron says, not knowing what to say.

"Harry's the Chosen One, Hermione's the smart one, but who am I?" Ron asks, not expecting an answer.

"You're my best friend, Ron," Harry says, patting him on the shoulder, "Without you I'd be dead several times over. You're one of the bravest men I've ever known."

"Ron Weasley, the brave," Gandalf says, chuckling.

"Sound's like a man of stout heart," Théoden says, "Like a soldier of Rohan."

"Me?" Ron says, "A soldier? No, I wouldn't last five minutes."

"Well, you saved me," Hermione says, "I nearly died in battle until you saved me."

Ron blushes and sinks back towards Hermione and Harry, anxious for the subject to turn away from him.

"What of Saruman?" Aragorn asks.

He exchanges a look with Gandalf then, looking up to the tower, he whispers, "Show yourself!"

"Be careful," Gandalf warns, "Even in defeat Saruman is dangerous."

"Then let's just have his head and be done with it!" Gimli says.

"No, we need him alive," Gandalf says with a plan up his sleeve, "We need him to talk."

"You have fought many wars and slain many men, Théoden King, and made peace afterwards," Saruman's voice calls from the top of Orthanc, "Can we not take counsel together as we once did, my old friend? Can we not have peace, you and I?"

All eyes turn to Théoden as he says, "We shall have peace," he pauses for a long while, almost to suggest seriousness, but continues, "We shall have peace when you answer for the burning of the Westfold and the children that lie dead there!"

"We shall have peace when the lives of the soldiers whose bodies were hewn even as they lay dead against the gates of the Hornburg… are avenged!" he bellows, intensely angered.

"When you hang from a gibbet for the sport of your own crows…" he starts, "We shall have peace!"

"Gibbets and crows!" Saruman roars, "Dotard!"

"What do you want Gandalf Greyhame?" Saruman calls, "Let me guess… the key of Orthanc? Or perhaps the keys of Barad Dûr itself? Along with the crowns of the seven Kings and the rods of the Five Wizards!"

"Your treachery has already cost many lives. Thousands more are now at risk," Gandalf says, "But you could save them, Saruman. You were deep in the enemy's counsel."

"So you have come here for information," Saruman says haughtily, "I have some for you."

He holds out his great seeing stone, the Palantir, for all to see. As he gazes at it, he becomes fixed on it, eyes entangled in a web of Sauron's deception.

"Something festers in the heart of Middle Earth," Saruman says, "Something that you have failed to see. But the great eye has seen it!" He gazes away from the Palantir, back to Gandalf and company, "Even now he presses his advantage. His attack will come soon."

Gandalf strides forward, drawing closer to the tower. "You are all going to die!" Saruman hisses.

Merry's face crumbles with worry. This worry was not just for himself but for his friends, Frodo and Sam, and his family back home. "Don't listen to him, Merry," Hermione whispers, "His mind is poisoned."

"But you know this don't you Gandalf? You cannot think that this Ranger will ever sit upon the throne of Gondor," Saruman hisses.

Aragorn looks up to him, brow furrowed, but says nothing. "This exile, crept from the shadows will never be crowned King," Saruman adds.

"Gandalf does not hesitate to sacrifice those who are closest to him, those he professes to _love._" he says, lingering on _love _as though it pains him to say the very word.

Gimli looks to Gandalf, his patience waining. Saruman continues, "Tell me, what words of comfort did you give the Halfling before you sent him to his doom?"

"The path that you have set him on can only lead to death," Saruman says.

"I've heard enough!" Gimli bellows, then adds to Legolas, "Shoot him! Stick an arrow in his gob."

Legolas reaches for an arrow but is quickly stopped by Gandalf, "No! Come down Saruman and your life will be spared!"

Gandalf makes one final effort to reason with Saruman, hoping for more information. "Save your pity and your mercy," Saruman hisses, "I have no use for it!"

Saruman casts a bolt of fire down from his staff to Gandalf. The fire swirls around him in a great orb, only to fade away, revealing Gandalf to be unscathed. Saruman, surprised, recoils. "Saruman," he starts, "Your staff is broken."

Saruman's staff explodes in his hand, casting burned and broken scattered pieces to fall at his feet. His mouth snarls inward as he studies the group below him. "Who are they?" Saruman asks, "More to add to your rag-tag band of followers?"

"Harry Potter," Harry says, confidently, "You don't frighten me."

"You don't frighten any of us, mate," Ron says, stepping forward.

"Over-confidence will be your downfall," Saruman says, "As it will be yours, Gandalf Greyhame."

"You do not have the strength to fight Mordor," he adds, "This I am sure."

Grima Wormtongue appears behind him, entering from a door leading to the top of the tower.

"Grima!" Théoden exclaims, "You need not follow him! You were not always as you are now."

"You were once a man of Rohan," he adds, "Come down."

Grima looks up to Saruman, then decides to turn back, and join Théoden and company below. Saruman has used him more than anyone, and is the last person he trusts.

"A man of Rohan? What is the house of Rohan but a thatched barn where brigands drink in the reek and their brats roll on the floor with the dogs?" Saruman says, stopping Grima.

"The victory at Helms Deep does not belong to you Théoden, _Horse Master_," he says, voice full of haughtiness, "You are a lesser son of greater sires."

"Grima, come down," Théoden says calmly, ignoring Saruman, "Be free of him!"

"Free?" Saruman says, turning to Grima, "He will never be free."

"No!" Grima says, standing up to Saruman.

"Get down, cur!" Saruman hisses through gritted teeth, slapping Grima across the face, knocking him down.

"Saruman! You were deep in the enemy's counsel. Tell us what you know!" Gandalf demands.

Saruman turns back to Gandalf, as Grima pulls out a knife, still laying on the ground. His hatred for Saruman has taken hold, no longer will Grima Wormtongue be demeaned by him.

Saruman says, "You withdraw your guard and I will tell you where your doom will be decided," he pauses and stipulates, "I will not be held prisoner here!"

Grima, enraged, rushes him, and stabs him in the back twice before being shot down by Legolas. Grima falls backward, but Saruman takes a fall of his own. He turns, falls down from Orthanc, until he smites himself on a great wheel below.

Hermione gasps, clutching Ron's sweater. Harry recoils, wanting to un-see what he has seen.

"Send word to all our allies and to every corner of Middle Earth that still stands free," Gandalf says, "The enemy moves against us. We need to know where he will strike."

As the wheel turns, the body turns with it, plunging Saruman headfirst into the water.

Before he fully submerges, the Palantir falls out of his sleeve with a _splash_, into the murky water. It hits the ground with a sinister _thud, _and all but Hermione and Pippin overlook it. They exchange a glance momentarily but turn to Treebeard, "The filth of Saruman is washing away," he says.

"Trees will come back to live here," Treebeard adds, "Young trees, wild trees."

While Treebeard is speaking Pippin is distracted, and dismounts, falling into the water. He sees a glowing light and starts for it. "Pippin!" Aragorn calls.

He picks the Palantir up and turns it in his hands, gazing at it. "Bless my bark!" Treebeard remarks.

"Peregrin Took, I'll take that, my lad," Gandalf says, striding up behind him, "Quickly now."

Pippin hands the stone over willingly but cautiously. Gandalf wraps it in his cloak, not wanting Sauron to see anything. Any clue, however small, as to what's going on beyond the limits of the Eye would be an aid to the foes in Mordor.

Pippin looks up to Gandalf sheepishly, apologetic, not understanding why the Palantir is so important. Gandalf studies him carefully, before turning away.

That night they stayed in Isengard, Gandalf and company making camp on the borders of the forest. "Can we see some more of your magic?" Pippin asks.

"Oh, yes," Gandalf says, "I would very much like to see."

"Alright," Hermione says, pointing her wand at the campfire, "Incendio!"

Several of the men gasp and cheers are heard all around as the wood sets ablaze. "What else can you do?" Aragorn asks, fiddling with the broken clasp on his shirt.

Hermione points her wand straight at him, causing his eyes to widen. "Repairo!" she says, repairing the clasp.

"I don't believe I've ever seen magic like yours before," Gandalf says now turning to the others, "You possess magic like hers as well?"

"Yes and no," Harry says, "Hermione's the brightest witch of our age."

"You mean to say that there's more of you?" King Théoden asks.

"Loads," Ron says, "Thousands probably."

"A thousand wizards?" Gandalf says, chuckling, "You must be mad."

"Why, how many are there here?" Harry asks, not remembering the statistics of what he's read.

"Five," Hermione and Gandalf say together.

"How did you know that?" Gandalf asks.

"I...uh," Hermione starts, "I heard Saruman say it earlier," she says, covering her prior knowledge up.

"Ah, yes," Gandalf admits skeptically, not remembering him say it.

"Tell us about your home," Legolas offers, it's the first time they've heard him speak.

"It's a busy place," Harry says, "A lot of people."

"We went to a school," Hermione says, "For witches and wizards, to learn magic."

"So you can read and write?" Gandalf offers, to which Hermione nods.

"Right now we're on the run," Ron says, "There's loads of people looking for us."

"Not here, I hope," he adds, "Though somehow the sword ended up here."

"I always thought that a bit funny," Hermione says, "Being that it's a b-"

She catches herself before she says _book, _"Being that it's a b-big place, and all."

"Tomorrow we'll be off," Harry says, "We have to defeat our own evil."

"What is this evil?" Gandalf says.

"A long time ago there was a wizard. A wizard who went bad," Harry starts, "He became dark and poisoned. He killed many people, including my parents."

"My father was cut down by orcs," Éomer says, "I hope you get the same satisfaction I got today in seeing him fall."

"He tried to make what's known as a horcrux. A horcrux is an object into which a part of your soul is placed, making you immortal," Harry says, "He split his soul into seven pieces."

"Seven pieces?" Aragorn repeats in disbelief, "Surely that is false."

"It's true," Hermione says, "Now we're on the run, trying to destroy them. So he's mortal again. If we don't, many more people will be killed."

"Why has the burden fallen on you children?" Gandalf asks.

"I am the boy who lived," Harry says, "Voldemort tried to use the killing curse on me when I was a baby, but it didn't work. It rebounded. I'm the only one known to have survived it. There was a prophecy made that neither of us can live while the other survives. He's wanted to kill me all of my life."

"And if we don't find those horcruxes," Harry says, "He will."

"Don't say that, Harry," Hermione says.

"It's true," Harry says, standing, walking away to the tent.

"It's been hard on him lately," Hermione says, as the men fall silent.

Hermione and Ron rejoin Harry in the tent later to enjoy one final night's peace before setting off to see Xenophilius Lovegood.

"I know you must leave to follow your own quest," Gandalf says, aside to Harry the next day, "But if you should ever need my help..."

"Don't hesitate to ask for it," he says.

"I won't," Harry says.

"Are we ever going to see you again?" Pippin asks, "Will you come back?"

"I hope so," Hermione says, hugging the hobbits, "We may yet meet again."

"I want you to have this," Pippin says, holding out his elven brooch.

Hermione smiles, crouching down to look him in the eye. She closes his hand around the brooch and says, "I couldn't let you part with it," she pauses, "Let it be a reminder of our adventure."

"Master Ronald," King Théoden says, "One last thing."

He holds out a sword to Merry. The sword is intricately detailed, an image of a galloping horse etched into the blade. "Do not disregard your worth so lightly," Théoden says, "I see bravery in your heart."

"Bravery that would be worthy to ride out with me in battle," he adds, "You would have a place in my guard if you were so inclined to take it one day."

Ron thanks him for the kingly gift, feeling a new sense of self-esteem. Hermione looks onto their exchange and smiles.

The three say their final goodbyes and head to the forest's edge with their tent. "I can't believe we're leaving," Hermione says.

"I know," Harry says, "But we have to."

"It was a good escape, you know?" she says, "But we can't run away forever."

They soon turn on the spot, hand in hand, transporting themselves back to their reality, off to see Xenophilius and destroy the remaining horcruxes.

_The End._


End file.
